Various systems are known for the detection of alarm conditions. One particular form of such a system is a smoke or fire detecting system for a type generally illustrated in previously issued Tice et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,432.
Upon receipt of inputs from a plurality of sensors a control unit associated with this system is able to make a determination as to whether or not a fire condition is present in one or more regions of interest. A variety of techniques have in the past been used for purposes of making this determination.
One known technique has been to compare one or more of the outputs of one or more sensors to one or more preestablished thresholds. The use of multiple thresholds permits the evaluation of trend information from one or more detectors.
Detection systems are evolving and are able to support larger numbers of sensors, 600 to 800 sensors or more. In this environment, it becomes desirable and important to be able to analyze outputs from large numbers of detectors at a relatively high rate so as to provide timely information as to trends as well as actual alarm conditions.
It is also desirable to be able to assess potential alarm conditions without having to make a large number of measurements over a period of time with respect to some or all of the sensors. In addition, it would be desirable to be able to analyze and determine the presence or absence of an alarm condition from a large number of detectors without substantially increasing the cost of the associated control unit.
Thus there continues to be a need for methods and systems of analyzing data received from large numbers of detectors.